Barring a big surprise, that's your choice of major party candidates in the November election, like it or not. And with almost all of the primaries behind us, we know a lot more about their strengths and weaknesses.

As we head toward the party conventions in late July and as a result of the vigorous competition in the primaries, voters have a better sense of what to expect when Clinton and Trump perform on the national election stage.

Here's a look at their pluses and minuses:

Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Hillary Clinton accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 28. The former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state was the first woman to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Before marrying Bill Clinton, she was Hillary Rodham. Here she attends Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Her commencement speech at Wellesley's graduation ceremony in 1969 attracted national attention. After graduating, she attended Yale Law School.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Rodham was a lawyer on the House Judiciary Committee, whose work led to impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon in 1974.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

In 1975, Rodham married Bill Clinton, whom she met at Yale Law School. He became the governor of Arkansas in 1978. In 1980, the couple had a daughter, Chelsea.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Arkansas' first lady, now using the name Hillary Rodham Clinton, wears her inaugural ball gown in 1985.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons celebrate Bill's inauguration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1991. He was governor from 1983 to 1992, when he was elected President.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Bill Clinton comforts his wife on the set of "60 Minutes" after a stage light broke loose from the ceiling and knocked her down in January 1992.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

In June 1992, Clinton uses a sewing machine designed to eliminate back and wrist strain. She had just given a speech at a convention of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union.

Clinton accompanies her husband as he takes the oath of office in January 1993.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons share a laugh on Capitol Hill in 1993.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton unveils the renovated Blue Room of the White House in 1995.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton waves to the media in January 1996 as she arrives for an appearance before a grand jury in Washington. The first lady was subpoenaed to testify as a witness in the investigation of the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. The Clintons' business investment was investigated, but ultimately they were cleared of any wrongdoing.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons hug as Bill is sworn in for a second term as President.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The first lady holds up a Grammy Award, which she won for her audiobook "It Takes a Village" in 1997.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons dance on a beach in the U.S. Virgin Islands in January 1998. Later that month, Bill Clinton was accused of having a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton looks on as her husband discusses the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 26, 1998. Clinton declared, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." In August of that year, Clinton testified before a grand jury and admitted to having "inappropriate intimate contact" with Lewinsky, but he said it did not constitute sexual relations because they had not had intercourse. He was impeached in December on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The first family walks with their dog, Buddy, as they leave the White House for a vacation in August 1998.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

President Clinton makes a statement at the White House in December 1998, thanking members of Congress who voted against his impeachment. The Senate trial ended with an acquittal in February 1999.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton announces in February 2000 that she will seek the U.S. Senate seat in New York. She was elected later that year.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton makes her first appearance on the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Sen. Clinton comforts Maren Sarkarat, a woman who lost her husband in the September 11 terrorist attacks, during a ground-zero memorial in October 2001.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton holds up her book "Living History" before a signing in Auburn Hills, Michigan, in 2003.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton and another presidential hopeful, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, applaud at the start of a Democratic debate in 2007.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama and Clinton talk on the plane on their way to a rally in Unity, New Hampshire, in June 2008. She had recently ended her presidential campaign and endorsed Obama.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama is flanked by Clinton and Vice President-elect Joe Biden at a news conference in Chicago in December 2008. He had designated Clinton to be his secretary of state.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton, as secretary of state, greets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a meeting just outside Moscow in March 2010.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

The Clintons pose on the day of Chelsea's wedding to Marc Mezvinsky in July 2010.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

In this photo provided by the White House, Obama, Clinton, Biden and other members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in May 2011.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton checks her Blackberry inside a military plane after leaving Malta in October 2011. In 2015, The New York Times reported that Clinton exclusively used a personal email account during her time as secretary of state. The account, fed through its own server, raises security and preservation concerns. Clinton later said she used a private domain out of "convenience," but admits in retrospect "it would have been better" to use multiple emails.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton arrives for a group photo before a forum with the Gulf Cooperation Council in March 2012. The forum was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama and Clinton bow during the transfer-of-remains ceremony marking the return of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who were killed in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton ducks after a woman threw a shoe at her while she was delivering remarks at a recycling trade conference in Las Vegas in 2014.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton, now running for President again, performs with Jimmy Fallon during a "Tonight Show" skit in September 2015.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton testifies about the Benghazi attack during a House committee meeting in October 2015. "I would imagine I have thought more about what happened than all of you put together," she said during the 11-hour hearing. "I have lost more sleep than all of you put together. I have been wracking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done." Months earlier, Clinton had acknowledged a "systemic breakdown" as cited by an Accountability Review Board, and she said that her department was taking additional steps to increase security at U.S. diplomatic facilities.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders shares a lighthearted moment with Clinton during a Democratic presidential debate in October 2015. It came after Sanders gave his take on the Clinton email scandal. "The American people are sick and tired of hearing about the damn emails," Sanders said. "Enough of the emails. Let's talk about the real issues facing the United States of America."

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton is reflected in a teleprompter during a campaign rally in Alexandria, Virginia, in October 2015.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton walks on her stage with her family after winning the New York primary in April.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

After Clinton became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, this photo was posted to her official Twitter account. "To every little girl who dreams big: Yes, you can be anything you want -- even president," Clinton said. "Tonight is for you."

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Obama hugs Clinton after he gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The president said Clinton was ready to be commander in chief. "For four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline," he said, referring to her stint as his secretary of state.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton arrives at a 9/11 commemoration ceremony in New York on September 11. Clinton, who was diagnosed with pneumonia two days before, left early after feeling ill. A video appeared to show her stumble as Secret Service agents helped her into a van.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

Clinton addresses a campaign rally in Cleveland on November 6, two days before Election Day. She went on to lose Ohio -- and the election -- to her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

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Photos:Hillary Clinton's life in the spotlight

After conceding the presidency to Trump in a phone call earlier, Clinton addresses supporters and campaign workers in New York on Wednesday, November 9. Her defeat marked a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised to make her the first woman elected US president.

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Hillary Clinton's campaign strengths

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1. Fighter: Clinton, once again, has proven to be a formidable political fighter. She does not give in easily and can punch back hard in adversity. During her many encounters with Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as during the congressional hearings into Benghazi, she has proved that she could do remarkably well when confronted by political opponents who question every word that she utters. Aside from the debates, she has proven to be a public official who can absorb many body blows, still maintaining her standing in the polls and able to attract votes. Her blistering speech last week warning about the dangers the nation, and the world, would face if Donald Trump had access to nuclear weapons painted him in a devastating light and goaded him into an angry response that seemed only to confirm her warnings.

2. Coalition builder: With the voting results in many primary states, Clinton also demonstrated the ability to build broad electoral coalitions in different parts of the country, something that will be pivotal in the swing states during the general election. This has been the key to her success against Sanders, who often had trouble reaching beyond his core supporters of younger, educated and independent voters. Clinton's appeal as a strong partisan leader has been a big attraction to different kinds of voters and she has been able to develop strong loyalties among groups such as African-American voters.

3. Crusader for Democratic causes: Clinton has shown that she can articulate and defend a robust Democratic domestic agenda even though she is often criticized by progressives for being too much in the center. Over the course of the primaries she has heard and seen the growing unrest in the Democratic electorate and the demand for a more progressive set of policies. She has been willing and capable of adapting by becoming more vocal on issues like the national minimum wage and a stronger health care system. While she needs to do much more work to convince many Democrats that she won't turn away from her promises, she has done well.

4. She would be the first female president: This makes her candidacy truly historic. Although too often dismissed as the "gender card," the possibility that Americans could elect a female president would be one of the biggest landmarks in American political history. The decision would mark a huge step forward in a nation where women were not even allowed to vote until 1920 and where gender inequality and sexism remains part of the national culture.

5. Ties to Democratic power centers: Clinton has developed strong relations with Democratic elected officials and candidates whom she is helping in Senate and House races. This is an important asset. Often dismissed by her opponents as representing ties to the "establishment," these connections will be instrumental to ensuring the best possible relations with Congress if Clinton is elected. Rather than shy away, she needs to make this part of her campaign case.

Clinton's campaign weaknesses:

1. Can she be trusted? The most essential problem Clinton faces has to do with trust. Some of the problem has to do with the legacy of her husband, who some Democrats felt betrayed them during the 1990s on issues like NAFTA and welfare reform. Yet Clinton has contributed to her low ranking for trustworthiness with the unusual way she handled her email as secretary of state, by setting up a private computer server outside the official system.

2. Hiding stuff: For all her savvy Clinton has shown a tendency to hide information rather than take the risk of being more open. This was evident in the way she handled the email controversy by giving a variety of different explanations and in her refusal to show Americans what she said in the infamous Goldman Sachs speeches. The perception of covering up the facts, even more than the alleged wrongdoing, has continued to create ongoing controversy and questions. Moreover, the FBI investigation into Clinton's handling of email is ongoing and it could adversely affect her reputation, even if the probe ends without charges being filed.

3. Where's the vision? A key weakness comes down to what former President George H.W. Bush once called the "vision thing." To be sure, the vision thing is often exaggerated. Candidates can sometimes avoid grandiose mission statements and do quite well. But at some level the winners in American history have inspired people to get behind their visions. This was certainly the case with Barack Obama, who drew millions into a campaign that promised to fundamentally change the course of policy and politics that had been undertaken by President George W. Bush, and with President Ronald Reagan when he called for a new era after the broken promises of the 1960s and 1970s. Trump has benefited from a concise slogan -- Make America Great Again -- while Clinton has struggled to come up with an enduring rationale for her candidacy.

4. Not a natural campaigner: Clinton has struggled to match the enthusiasm Sanders and Trump have evoked on the campaign trail and has even admitted that campaigning is not her strength, in contrast to Bill Clinton.

Photos:Donald Trump's rise

President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

The Trump family, circa 1986.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996.

Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people."

Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.

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Photos:Donald Trump's rise

Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.

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Donald Trump's campaign strengths:

1. Master of the media: If there is one strength that stands above all others it has to do with the media. Despite blasting reporters in a recent press conference, Donald Trump has proven that he has a crafty feel for the way the modern news media and social media work, and has the capacity to shape and direct conversations in the direction that he wants. He has the uncanny ability to make statements that will dominate news discussion for days and has a feel for the arguments that will capture attention.

2. Turning flip-flops into a positive: He has also learned to use the flip-flop to his advantage. Whereas many politicians, like Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in 2004, have been greatly damaged by taking different sides of the same position, Trump often gets away with it. He says many different things, providing a little bit for many to agree with. He refuses to get pinned down when questioned about these inconsistencies. He has argued that flexibility is a positive, particularly in a president who needs to negotiate with Congress and leaders overseas.

3. Willing to break the mold: Trump is unafraid to advocate unorthodox views. In an era when many politicians, including Clinton, instinctively back away from any statement that defies the standard party line, Trump seems willing to do so with reckless abandon. And so far it has worked. He has made a number of arguments, such as staunchly defending Social Security or offering words of praise to Planned Parenthood, that would have doomed most Republican presidential contenders in years past. Given that voters think so little of the status quo, he has found more leeway by just being different than the politicians they heard in earlier years.

4. Speaks to alienated voters: He is a candidate who knows to speak to the anger that exists in the electorate. Like others who have come before him, for example George Wallace in 1968, he has a strong feel for the anger in the electorate and knows how to tap into this and is not shy about doing so. He is willing to say the things that some voters want to hear, even if there are potential risks in doing so, and he can connect with that anger in a way that has proven difficult for others, like Jeb Bush, or takes him into territory they would rather avoid. He doesn't seem to have any boundaries as to what kinds of rhetoric he is willing to use, as has been evident with his words about immigrants.

5. Being an outsider at a moment people detest "The System": This is one way in which Trump can use his inexperience and distance from Washington to his advantage. At a moment when many voters don't trust anything in Washington, he can claim that he is not part of this city.

Trump's campaign weaknesses

1 Flirting with extremism: Repeatedly Trump has made statements that demonstrate his willingness to court dangerous extremists in the electorate. He played word games when Jake Tapper questioned him about condemning the KKK. He has made statements about immigrants, women and Muslims that play directly to some of the most nativist, sexist and xenophobic parts of the electorate. His comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel, as well as his doubts that a Muslim judge could fairly decide the case, even led his more enthusiastic supporters, like Newt Gingrich, to dissociate themselves from such racist claims.

2. Unpredictable, erratic and angry? Trump is unpredictable, he is erratic and it is unknown how or what he would do if he was in the White House. This means, at some level, he is a big risk. This gives Democrats a significant opening to play into the doubts of the electorate. His hair-trigger temper has popped up several times, providing an unsettling image of what he would be like as the nation's commander in chief. It also raises questions, as has been the case in his attacks on the judge handling the Trump University case, about whether he will be willing to work within the boundaries of the Constitution.

3. Lukewarm support from GOP establishment: He also has been unable to win enthusiastic support from many in the GOP. While the Never Trump movement was paper thin and didn't last, much of the support from Republicans remains lukewarm, a grudging acceptance that he is the only choice that Republicans will have. He will need the support of around 90% to 95% of the Republican electorate to win. He will also need high levels of voter turnout and strong ground mobilization to win in swing states, all of which remains in doubt at this time.

4. Controversy galore: He is saddled with an enormous amount of controversy and scandal, not all of which has surfaced. Just in recent weeks the discussions about Trump University and ongoing questions about why he won't release his tax returns, as well as alleged connections to organized crime, along with the many comments that can be dug up about his personal life, will remain a vulnerability. The best news for him is that the Clinton controversies of the past 25 years can cancel some of this out or at least neutralize it in the final vote. But there is a long history of controversy involving Trump and further scrutiny by the media could raise new doubts among voters.

5. Weak on knowledge of policy issues: During the primaries Trump has often shown a very thin grasp of some basic policy issues. Sometimes it quickly became evident that statements he made about a certain area of policy were just wrong. And while it is true that he has been able to win the nomination anyway, ignorance can hurt when he faces off against Clinton, one of the smartest and most experienced people in the political realm. He has made baffling statements about allowing Japan and South Korea to have nuclear weapons to deter North Korea, he was stumped by a question about the nuclear triad and was confused by a question about "Brexit," the upcoming referendum in which United Kingdom voters will decide whether Britain should leave the European Union, just to name a few examples.

These strengths and weaknesses are likely to drive the dynamic of the general election, even though it's likely that new issues will arise.

To be sure, there is room for candidates to work on some of their weaknesses and bring to the forefront aspects of their candidacies that have not yet been on the table. But the basic outlines of candidates do tend to become clear in the first phase of the election. We have learned a lot and have a much better feel for the key elements of the race ahead.